December 14-17, 2021 Collectible Firearms & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/14/2021
Commissioning pennants were an old tradition, supposed to be flown from a masthead the day of commission, and not taken down until the ship was decommissioned and removed from service. This one is bunting, about 40 feet long, tapering to a point, with upper end blue and lower portions red and white stripes. This is made in several sections, with both the blue and red and white sections handsewn. The uppermost, blue section has a canvas edge and wood toggle for fastening it. The blue portion of the pennant, consisting of 3 sections joined end to end, has 17 white, 5-pointed stars applied to each side. The 7 uppermost stars, on the first panel, are machine sewn. On the other blue panels the remaining 10 stars are hand sewn. CONDITION: Good to very good. The fly end of the pennant shows holes, shredding and losses but appears to be full length. A small end tassel, now detached, seems to be original to it. The upper portions are much better, with few holes. The blue color is strong. The white shows dirt and stains. The stars are all firmly in place and the stitching overall is secure. There is a War of 1812 17-star naval flag in the Zaricor collection, but the use of machine sewing precludes dating the pennant that early and pushes it into the Civil War or later, though likely not much later given the use of hand sewing as well. More likely the presence of stars was considered of more importance than their appearance in a precise number.
Item Dimensions: 10" X 6"